Laura Stuart death: Man stabbed 'trying to stop attack'
- Published
Laura Stuart died after she was stabbed
A man who was injured as he tried to help a woman being stabbed in the street has described the moment her alleged attacker struck.
David Roberts told Mold Crown Court how he intervened when Jason Cooper attacked ex-girlfriend Laura Stuart as she left a pub in Denbigh last year.
He was stabbed multiple times, while Ms Stuart died two days later.
Mr Cooper, 28, of Denbigh, denies murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Mr Roberts said he was leaving the Golden Lion pub with Ms Stuart and his father on 12 August last year, when he saw Mr Cooper running towards them.
He said: "He had a knife in his right hand, screaming and shouting something.
"I could see it was some sort of kitchen knife."
The court heard Ms Stuart started to run away, but Mr Cooper caught up with her and began stabbing her and kicked her in the face as she lay on the ground.
Mr Roberts said he tried to pull him off but was stabbed in the shoulder, elbow and ear and suffered a collapsed lung.
The incident happened in Denbigh town centre
Asked why he was attacking Ms Stuart, Mr Cooper is alleged to have said, with a big smile on his face: "I told you I would do this."
Mr Roberts, who had known the pair for a number of years, told the jury: "He [Mr Cooper] seemed angry towards Laura.
"He really didn't like her. He wanted to make sure that no one else liked her."
His father said Ms Stuart had tried to protect herself by turning round, but Mr Cooper kept stabbing her in the back before kicking her in the face as she lay on the ground.
"I would put it like someone taking a penalty in a Premiership game," he told the jury.
'Lost everything'
Members of the public who confronted Mr Cooper said he claimed Ms Stuart had left him, taken his money and she had been having an affair.
They told the jury he then confessed to what he had done before laughing and running off, saying he had to phone relatives as he was going away for a long time.
Mr Cooper later returned to the scene and the jury was shown bodycam footage of him telling officers he had lost everything and Ms Stuart "took everything from me".
He later said: "It's not one of those psychopathic things where you just go nuts for no reason. There's a reason for it.
"She thought she was going to live her life and leave me in the lurch and she'd be as happy as Larry...and do whatever she wants…not on my watch".
In the days before the attack, Mr Roberts said he received messages from Mr Cooper which concerned him and he had advised him to see a doctor.
The court heard one message read: "What I do, no one can prevent" and "one person or two is going to get it".
The trial continues.
- Published5 March 2018
